The Impact of Java and Public Key Cryptography in Wireless Sensor Networking David Boyle and Thomas Newe Optical Fiber Sensors Research Centre, University of Limerick, Ireland {david.boyle, thomas.newe}@ul.ie Abstract The evolution of Wireless Sensor Networks continues through the arrival of the Java development environment. More intuitive to a wider range of developers, and incorporating more powerful hardware; a number of residual research problems facing designers of Wireless Sensor Networks have been addressed. The objective of this paper is to introduce and provide some exposure to the latest development environment available for Wireless Sensor Networking, illustrate what achievements have already been made, and their immediate impact in the field. In particular, the problem of securing a potential deployment has been one of the major inhibitors to the widespread implementation of sensor networks; a problem which has been thoroughly addressed in the design of the Sun platform. This solution comes in the guise of a fully implemented and operational Public Key Infrastructure. This paper critiques the security services provided; whilst considering current knowledge pertaining to the security of Wireless Sensor Networks, in conjunction with the advantages of such a system and the opportunities it provides. 1. Introduction IRELESS Sensor Networks (WSNs) can be defined as groups of independent nodes, communicating wirelessly over limited frequency and bandwidth [1]. The initial novelty of WSNs in comparison to traditional sensor networks was that they depended on dense deployment and coordination to successfully execute their tasks. This method of distributed sensing allowed for closer placement to the phenomena to be achieved than is possible using a single sensor, when the exact location of a particular event is unknown [2]. Originally based on Microeletromechanical Systems (MEMS), sensor networks continue to evolve. A typical mote and research platform for the development and application of WSNs in recent years is the Crossbow “MICAz” [3], programmed in network embedded systems C (nesC) [4], affected via the TinyOS operating system [5]. Applications of such WSNs are diverse in their range, encompassing military, medical, environmental, industrial and commercial areas [6]. As the plethora of application scenarios continues to expand, the need to secure the sensed and disseminated data continues also. The security requirements of an application design depend largely on the sensitivity of this transmitted data. Consider applications in the medical field, in which it is a legal prerequisite that all physiological patient data is kept confidential, or a military application; where privacy and security of the network are crucial to its success. Security concerns, in tandem with concerns relating to power management, network discovery, control and routing, collaborative signal and information processing, and tasking and querying, are all areas currently under research, and combine to inhibit the widespread deployment of WSN technology in many application fields [7]. Sun Microsystems have developed a WSN platform that runs Java code “on-the-metal” of their motes, known as Sun SPOTs [8,9]. There are many advantages to removing the need for a traditional operating system, but the major advantage in implementing a Java based system is the number of people to whom this technology will now be accessible. There are far superior numbers of Java programmers around the globe than there are C programmers, not to mention those capable of developing in nesC. The shift in trend to developing WSNs through Java has been further substantiated by the conversion of the Moteiv Corporation to Sentilla in late 2007, discontinuing their previous Tmote, based on nesC and TinyOS, in favor of developing a new Java powered Sentilla Tmote [10], which is currently W The Fourth International Conference on Wireless and Mobile Communications 978-0-7695-3274-5/08 $25.00 © 2008 IEEE DOI 10.1109/ICWMC.2008.64 288 The Fourth International Conference on Wireless and Mobile Communications 978-0-7695-3274-5/08 $25.00 © 2008 IEEE DOI 10.1109/ICWMC.2008.64 288 Authorized licensed use limited to: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. Downloaded on August 26, 2009 at 02:16 from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.